Savior
by Blood Always Tells
Summary: A storm is brewing on the horizon. The Burning Legion is ready to invade Azeroth yet again. Ailrania, a kaldorei huntress, must summon her courage and the Alliance to confront these demonic powers and save Azeroth once more.


_A/N: Here's my first warcraft fanfic! Don't be too harsh on me, ok? _

"What news, Lord Zendar?" asked the tall female _kaldorei_, or night elf. Her long blue-green hair was tied back over her long ears and hidden under her helm; she bent over to look at a map on a small rickety table, her intricate silver mail armor clinking together. They were inside her tent in the night elves encampment in the Stonetalon Mountains, overlooking a large complex of dwarves, humans, and goblins chopping down the precious trees.

"Several orc encampments have been discovered in both the eastern and northwestern parts of Ashenvale, Lady Ailrania," replied the male night elf, his long silver hair brushing against the parchment. Young, even by the elves standards, he was wise for his age. "I have sent scouts already to investigate, and it seems that the orcs are seeking to build more lumber mills in our forests," he added as he glanced up at Ailrania, a slight smirk on his handsome face. "The Silverwings won't be happy."

"No, of course not," replied Ailrania, smirking back, "but they never are."

"What shall we do, my lady?"

Ailrania pursed her full lips, a faint frown creasing the smooth pale violet skin of her brow. She was silent for a moment, before answering:

"Send reinforcements to the Silverwing Outpost, but tell them not to attack the orcs yet. I believe there is something more to this, something we are not seeing."

Zendar nodded, rolled up the parchment, before bowing to the female and walking out of the tent. Ailrania sighed before flopping down on her cot, pulling her helm off and throwing it on the floor. The stress she had been holding in pounded at her temples. She needed to get away from all of this, and soon; the constant anxiety was getting to be unbearable. How she longed for the twilight boughs of Teldrassil, the smell of the grass when she fell asleep in the woods while watching the stars, and to see the very beauty of the forest and the capital city, Darnassus, her home. Just thinking about it made her heart ache. She groaned, and then removed her mail armor and donned a silver gown.

It was quite a while later when Ailrania heard a commotion outside her tent. She was reading a scroll on developments in Darkshore when a Sentinel opened Ailrania's tent flap. Her three-bladed weapon was tied onto her back, her chest was heaving under her breastplate, and her blue hair was tied in a braid.

"My Lady!" she gasped. "You have a missive from Darnassus."

Ailrania's head whipped up. A missive from Darnassus? Ailrania pulled on her leather bracers and breastplate.

"Thank you, Kerini. That will be all," said Ailrania softly, and Kerini bowed before exiting. Ailrania followed soon after, emerging from the tent to see a woman dressed in black armor with the kaldorei crest on the chest piece. She was standing beside a huge, muscular panther with a saddle. The panthers' black fur was sleek and brushed to perfection; it's overlarge fangs were a cream color and were about half a foot thick at the gums, ending in sharp points as sharp as Ailrania's swords.

Ailrania approached the messenger, her steps graceful yet decisive. The messenger noticed her and nodded her head, bending slightly at the waist. Ailrania did the same in return; messengers had no time for bowing. Ailrania walked up to the panther and began to scratch the beast in places it couldn't reach. The panther tensed at first, but then it relaxed extensively and collapsed on the ground, purring. Ailrania couldn't help but smile as she knelt beside the panther and scratched his belly.

"Lady Ailrania, I presume?" asked the messenger hesitantly.

"I am she," replied the female, more preoccupied with the cat. The messenger cleared his throat. Ailrania sighed before returning to her feet.

"I had heard you were good with animals…" she began, but Ailrania waved her hand to silence her.

"All you need to know is where to scratch," she responded. The messenger fought back a dry smile, then pulled out a scroll from within her bag.

"A summons from Darnassus," she said simply as she handed her the parchment.

Ailrania, brow furrowed, accepted the parchment, broke the seal, and read it. It was very simple:

_"Ishnu'alah, Lady Ailrania. The High Priestess of Elune summons you to Darnassus. You are needed at home. Ride back with messenger who delivered this summons. You will be informed the predicament then._

_Elune'Adore __[1]__,_

_Astarii Starseeker"_

Ailranias' frown deepened. She rolled the parchment back up and tucked it in her sleeve. She considered asking the messenger of what she was to expect, bu8t decided better of it.

"I will prepare to leave immediately," said Ailrania, her words stiff and formal. "You will give me some time to gather my things, of course?"

"Gladly, my lady," replied the messenger. She placed her fist over her heart and bowed before turning back to her mount. Ailrania spun on her heel and walked back to her tent. She felt someone come up beside her, and she glanced over to see Lord Zendar walking next to her.

"You cannot leave now, my lady," begged Zendar, trying to keep pace with the lady's long legs. "The Sentinels need you here. They need your guidance; you cannot abandon them now."

"I am _not_ abandoning them!" hissed Ailrania, causing the night elf to jump. They had reached her tent. Ailrania lowered her voice and said, "You know as well as I that I would never want to leave our people here, especially during this time. But this is a summons straight from the capital, from the _High Priestess_ herself," she added, and Zendar huffed angrily, but he knew where she was going with this. "I answer only to the High Priestess; well, expect for the Goddess. I cannot ignore this; I leave at dawn."

Zendar searched her face for a long moment, looking for anything, but her face was determined and stoic; he would not be able to sway her on this matter. With another angry huff, he walked away. Ailrania watched him go, a faint frown creasing her forehead. She walked inside her tent, throwing her clothing into a leather bag.

It was going to be a long night.

***

Dawn arrived all too soon. Ailrania hurriedly dressed in light armor and belted her bow, quiver, and swords before stepping outside, her pack slung over her back.

The messenger was readying the saddles on two night sabers. One was the messengers' mount…and the other was Ailrania's. A rather large tiger, larger than the usual saber tooth tigers that her people used for transportation. Pure white fur with black strips and blue eyes, it was a rare saber tooth; Ailrania called it a "frostsaber."

"Are you ready, Ash'merah?" murmured Ailrania as she stroked her cat's head. The cat ducked out of her reach and stared at her with deep, solemn eyes. "Don't look at me like that. We have to return home. We'll return here someday."

"_Ishnu-dal-dieb_[2],my Lady," murmured the messenger, placing her left hand over her right fist and bowing.

"_Elune-adore,_" Ailrania replied, bowing in return. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"Good. I will be ready shortly," said Ailrania, and the messenger bowed and returned to her mount.

"Milady?"

It was Lord Zendar. She turned to see him approaching her, and she sighed.

"I have already told you, my lord, that I was leaving -"

"I know milady. That was not the reason I came out here so early," he interrupted, and Ailrania crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation. "I wished to give you something."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chain, with what appeared to be a large, oval pendant dangling from it.

"It's magicked," he explained as he handed it to Ailrania, who examined it closely. The pendant was made of a large silver jewel fitted with silver filigree, and the jewel had strange markings on it. "If you require assistance, and your needs are dire, hold the pendant in your palm and call for whatever it is you need."

"It's lovely," she said softly, and she gave him a small smile. "I will treasure this."

"Please do," he said simply, and he shrugged. "It may very well save your life someday."

"Thank you, Zendar," she murmured, and she saluted him. He bowed in return, and began to walk away, when he paused and said over his shoulder, "_Ande'thoras-ethil _[3], Ailrania."

"And to you as well, Zendar."

He nodded and disappeared around a line of tents. She was motionless, then turned and mounted Ash'merah. Ash'merah grunted but otherwise didn't complain about the weight. The messenger mounted her panther.

"Are your ready, milady?" asked the messenger.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said quietly, and she urged Ash'merah forward. The panther reared slightly, roared loudly, and began to run. The wind whipped past as the tiger jumped off the cliff and landed on the rocks below, unharmed. The panther dodged some overly large spiders and other monstrosities before finding its way into the Talondeep Path, a mountain tunnel that led from the mountains into the twilight boughs and dense forests of Ashenvale. There she would take the roads up to Darkshore, and take a boat to Teldrassil, where Darnassus was located.

"Elune be with us," she whispered to herself as she and the messenger plunged into the darkness of the tunnel.

* * *

_A/N: Heres some tranlations for some of the Darnassian lines:_

_1. "Elune-Adore" - "_Elune be with you"

_2. "Ishnu-dal-dieb" - _"Good fortune to your family"

_3. "Ande'thoras-ethil" - _"May your troubles be diminished"

_I hope you enjoyed this! Look out for chapter two! R'n'R!_


End file.
